Cleveland Browns Wisely Pass On Hard Knocks 2014 With Circus Already In Town

By Andrew Fisher

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You can cross the Cleveland Browns off the list of teams in the ‘running’ for this year’s installment of Hard Knocks. Each year one team gets the privilege/duty of hosting HBO cameras during training camp, but head coach Mike Pettine has confirmed it will not be the Browns in 2014.

“It was for the same reason we didn’t feel super comfortable having a camera in the draft room. Let’s get through the first time, let’s get through the first year…There are positives and negatives to doing it. It’s not something I would say we’d never do, partly because the league can make us do it,” said Pettine via the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Given that the circus is already in town, and will continue to say in town because of Johnny Manziel, this is no doubt the right move by the Browns organization. The last thing the up-and-coming team needs is more eyeballs on it. At the same time, Pettine is a rookie coach, who’s head is probably already spinning in the second week of June.

As much as HBO would have loved to have Johnny Football on this year’s installment of the show, it just wasn’t in the cards. It should never have been in the cards. But as Pettine pointed out, the NFL can make teams do the show. However, even Roger Goodell isn’t that greedy or mean.

Making the Browns do Hard Knocks this season would have simply been unfair. Entertaining. But completely unfair.